FR helps AFTER the primaries and its help to the conservative cause was on display a few weeks ago, when we helped flatline the amnesty bill.
No, I wasn't here for the 2000 primaries. But my memory is that McCain got nasty first, so it reasons that supporters of either would follow suit.
I'm not advocating we just accept everything from the RNC, but what really good candidate would want to run and try to represent and satisfy all-or-nothing constituents?
I fail to see how FR helps after the primary if the candidate is someone who has already been dumped all over by the "base". The DNC is just tap into work already done by others.
Finally, FR does get credit for halting the amnesty bill, but talk radio is the powerhouse of spreading conservative philosophy. People like Rush nationally and Jeff Katz on WBT locally are the ones I give the most credit to.
Rush did was not nearly as forceful on this as talkers like Levin, Hewitt, and Savage that gave out phome numbers and were really worked up. The blogosphere, which FR is part of, was equally inflamed.